Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
John 7:17 NIV
Jesus had gone to Jerusalem during one of the annual festivals. While there, he began to teach in the temple courts. Jesus’ teaching amazed the Jewish authorities because he had not been to any of their rabbinic schools. And, since the basis of his teaching was not on any of their recognized and distinguished teachers, they considered it suspect. Had he made it up?
Jesus refuted their claim. His teaching was not his own. Instead, it came from the one who had sent him–from God—a better source of teaching than any of their rabbinical schools. And Jesus offered them a way to discern if his teaching was from God. Or if it had a human source.
That way was choosing to do God’s will. Those who do God’s will learn for themselves the source of Jesus’ teaching. And they will discover for themselves that what Jesus taught was indeed from God.
Doing the Will of God
What does it mean “to choose to do the will of God?” It means that we have chosen to obey God in all we do. To walk before him in faith, in love, and in holiness. And to honor and glorify him as God.
When I have made that commitment, I will know that Jesus’ teaching is from God because it guides me in doing God’s will. And because his teaching brings glory to God.
And what was true of Jesus’ teaching is true of other teachers as well. If their teaching glorifies God, aligns with that of Jesus and his apostles, and guides us in doing God’s will, then we can have confidence they are from God. But if their teaching glorifies themselves, is at odds with the Bible, or does not lead to do the will of God, we can know they are not from God.
